TAMPA, Fla. (Wednesday, February 1, 2023) — Ybor Speaks, a new public art project commissioned by the City of Tampa Arts & Cultural Affairs Division, is offering a unique window into the immigrant experience in Ybor City, from the boom town of the 1890s through the creative revival of the 1980s. The project is an immersive on-site and online sound experience.
The Ybor Speaks soundscape provides an in-person aural adventure of trolleys, footsteps, and horses. While passing through Centennial Park, people will hear sounds of many different languages that were spoken decades ago, such as Spanish, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Yiddish, English, and Vietnamese.
The online component provides a series of YouTube videos that dig deeper into Ybor’s history.Original scripted stories by Sheila Cowley feature local talent from the Spanish Lyric Theatre, University of South Florida School of Theatre and Dance, and Tampa Bay stage and screen actors. 
Additionally, excerpts and memories from books by notable authors such as Gary Mormino, Ph.D., Ferdie Pacheco, Jack Espinosa, Scott Deitche and Tony Pizzo, and Wallace Reyes, Ph.D., are voiced by local actors. The soundscape plays at the top of each hour from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, every day except Saturday and during special events. Each soundscape lasts approximately 20 minutes and is followed by music. It repeats again at the top of the hour.
WHERE: Centennial Park (1800 E 8th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605)TIME: 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, every day except Saturday & during special events.LEARN MORE: www.tampa.gov/yborspeaks.
